Why do so many people dislike Half-Life 2?

I mean, it was just as good, if not better, than it's original counterpart, yet i do admit the sixth chapter (Ravenholm) realllllllllllly slows the pace down, and the game would not have been too hindered in story or in content had they left that section out.
Any opinions on why you hate it, or if you do love it, why?

Or rather no ending adrake4183

I played CS:S to death but I never got very far past (Ravenholm???) zombieville I like to call it. Game just lost its appeal to me after that.zeroncali

Same thing happened to me. Coincidence?? Great game up to that partthough. I will have to revisit it, and finish it though.

ahh thats normal, not every game is going to appeal to everybody. it did what it set out to do very well though and its reviews support that, if people who hated it cant look at it objectively and see that though, who cares? there are always going to be morons now arent there?

[QUOTE="zeroncali"]I played CS:S to death but I never got very far past (Ravenholm???) zombieville I like to call it. Game just lost its appeal to me after that.digiram79

Same thing happened to me. Coincidence?? Great game up to that partthough. I will have to revisit it, and finish it though.

You should, the last part of the game is the best and most atmospheric imo.

I can think of three things that cause Half Life 2 to be hated - or perhaps, cause Half Life 2 to appear to be hated.

Firstly, the gunplay sucks. It simply cannot be denied. The gunplay sucks. Compared with some of its contemporaries, games like F.E.A.R and Call of Duty 2 - hell, even compared with Half Life1 - HL2 has some extremely stale gunplay. The actual act of shooting is just not all that great. The AI is dire and a lot of the weapons aren't all that great.

I won't balance the above by going into why HL2 is one of the best games ever made, we all know - but the game is not without its flaws.

Then there is the fact that it's a very popular, very respected game. And people love to hate. Hate is always directed at the top. No matter what it is, if it's at the top, if it's the best, it will be hated. The most loved games are, as often as not, also the most hated. It's why everyone hates America. It's why everyone hates Manchester United. It's why everyone hates Half Life 2.

And finally, because it's a very popular game, it's talked about a lot. You talk about something a lot, the number of dissenting voices is naturally higher. Not necessarily disproportionately so, but it seems like that because it's just more talked about.

"so many people" dislike hl2? Thats news to me. Theres always haters but the majority of gamers I run into love hl2TeamR

Indeed.

It's why everyone hates Manchester United.

:( They do?

Anyway, if I apply your logic and say that Halo CE is one of the greatest FPSs ever made (I actually think that...), what's your answer to that? You know, just curious.

why do so many people dislike Crysis? why do so many people dislike UT3? see where i'm going with this.there is always a reason more personal than anything else. I respect half life 2 but it is nowhere near the status it is awarded time and time again. Sure it has a great story and HAD a great engine but i see nothing to diffrentiate it now It doesn;t do anything that hasn't been done before or hasn't caught on like wildfire by now. Sure it has physics puzzles but i'm sure giving Gordon the ability to climb rather than place rocks or paint cans to create a makeshift seesaw to get on a ledge would be better. The hate generally comes from people not seeing why the hell it is so popular. They enjoy the game but hate it because it is made out to be more than it is and the games they personally prefer are not recognised as such. I don't hate it nor do i place it on a pedestal but i enjoy it for an awesome though ,at times boring, gameplay experience.

How the heck can you not like Half Life 2 is beyond me. Ravenholm was classic espically the creepy old man voice (Eh he ha or hever he does it.).OoSuperMarioO

How the heck can you not like Half Life 2 is beyond me. Ravenholm was classic espically the creepy old man voice (Eh he ha or however he does it.).OoSuperMarioO

It's why everyone hates Manchester United.

:( They do?

Anyway, if I apply your logic and say that Halo CE is one of the greatest FPSs ever made (I actually think that...), what's your answer to that? You know, just curious.

artur79

Halo is very widely loved and very widely hated. The entire series has had crazy good reviews everywhere, and it basically carried the Xbox. But you would not have to look very far to find someone who hates Halo. Me, for example.

I'm sure if called upon, a few hundred other people would agree with me just on this forum. Biased, being a PC forum, perhaps. But my love & hate theory does not consider bias. Only the love and the hate.

And yeah, everyone hates Man U! Or they used to, anyway. Back when they were top dog. I don't follow football any more, but I think they've been replaced. Bu Chelsea. or something. Maybe everyone hates them now too.

The only prerelease review was PC Gamer which was a 98. Only a perfect game should get that kind of score. That probably made a lot of people expect a flawless game. Same thing happened with Bioshock.

Then you have all the bink vids that were very hard not to watch. Watching those vids definately lowered the wow factor when people finally got to play the game.

Imagine finding out about the gravity gun, the lifelike npc's and the physics for the 1st time while actually playing the game.

[QUOTE="artur79"]

It's why everyone hates Manchester United.

:( They do?

Anyway, if I apply your logic and say that Halo CE is one of the greatest FPSs ever made (I actually think that...), what's your answer to that? You know, just curious.

mfsa

Halo is very widely loved and very widely hated. The entire series has had crazy good reviews everywhere, and it basically carried the Xbox. But you would not have to look very far to find someone who hates Halo. Me, for example.

I'm sure if called upon, a few hundred other people would agree with me just on this forum. Biased, being a PC forum, perhaps. But my love & hate theory does not consider bias. Only the love and the hate.

And yeah, everyone hates Man U! Or they used to, anyway. Back when they were top dog. I don't follow football any more, but I think they've been replaced. Bu Chelsea. or something. Maybe everyone hates them now too.

So if you look objectively at Halo (putting your personal feelings aside), you're saying that it deserves to be called a great game? I think "imo" should be used more often on these forums. Too much "X sucks!". People treat their own opinions like it's the ultimate truth/fact. God, I hate that. That's elitist talk.

Arsenal is top dog now, I hate them, lol.

[QUOTE="mfsa"][QUOTE="artur79"]

It's why everyone hates Manchester United.

:( They do?

Anyway, if I apply your logic and say that Halo CE is one of the greatest FPSs ever made (I actually think that...), what's your answer to that? You know, just curious.

artur79

Halo is very widely loved and very widely hated. The entire series has had crazy good reviews everywhere, and it basically carried the Xbox. But you would not have to look very far to find someone who hates Halo. Me, for example.

I'm sure if called upon, a few hundred other people would agree with me just on this forum. Biased, being a PC forum, perhaps. But my love & hate theory does not consider bias. Only the love and the hate.

And yeah, everyone hates Man U! Or they used to, anyway. Back when they were top dog. I don't follow football any more, but I think they've been replaced. Bu Chelsea. or something. Maybe everyone hates them now too.

So if you look objectively at Halo (putting your personal feelings aside), you're saying that it deserves to be called a great game? I think "imo" should be used more often on these forums. Too much "X sucks!". People treat their own opinions like it's the ultimate truth/fact. God, I hate that. That's elitist talk.

Arsenal is top dog now, I hate them, lol.

Well, on the imo thing... I don't really feel the need to prefix everything I say with in my opinion - of course it's my opinion (though I do throw it in quite a lot anyway). People who try to present their opinion as fact are, of course, wrong. But I just take everything everyone says with a pinch of salt and give everyone the benefit of the doubt - and if I disagree, regardless of anything else, I argue anyway.

As for Halo - I'm not saying it deserves to be called great, or vice versa, I just believe that any game that is very popular - regardless of its quality, speaking objectively - will also be widely disliked. Lots of people dislike Half Life 2 for the same reason that lots of people dislike Halo - or any popular thing - because it is popular. Schadenfreude. People enjoy it.

Plus, as I said, the simple popularity of it will make it more talked about, so the number of people who dislike it rises in proportion - but you see more hate, because there's just more talk on the subject. For example, I may see ten people say they hate Half Life 2 in one day, and see no one say they hate Quake 2 for a month - not because Quake 2 is more popular, but just because it is less talked about.

I thought Half-Life 2 was a vast improvment over it's predecessor. I much preferred Blood 2, repetitive though it was, to the original half-life. It looked better and it was more fun mowing stupid enemies down with guns that felt like they had kick to them.

My only two beefs with Half-Life 2 are the "puzzles" and the technical issues (steam-issues/loading issues)

I also thought the antlion fight in half-life 2 episode 1 (the one where you need to cover the 3 antlion holes) was SPECIFICALLY designed to annoy me. I really don't appreciate having the camera shaken violently as I'm trying to figure out what to do.

Loading times are a big annoyance for me as well.

The reason why most people hate anything nowadays is because its the "cool" thing to do. Its called being a "scenester" i believe.

dont even mention halo and hl2 in the same breathbanemind

True Dat.

AND. I think Ravenholm was an excellent level. Prolly played it through more than any others. What's not to like about chopping zombies in half with some saw blades??

Show me this "So many people". I've never seen em.

I can think of three things that cause Half Life 2 to be hated - or perhaps, cause Half Life 2 to appear to be hated.

Firstly, the gunplay sucks. It simply cannot be denied. The gunplay sucks. Compared with some of its contemporaries, games like F.E.A.R and Call of Duty 2 - hell, even compared with Half Life1 - HL2 has some extremely stale gunplay. The actual act of shooting is just not all that great. The AI is dire and a lot of the weapons aren't all that great.

I won't balance the above by going into why HL2 is one of the best games ever made, we all know - but the game is not without its flaws.

Then there is the fact that it's a very popular, very respected game. And people love to hate. Hate is always directed at the top. No matter what it is, if it's at the top, if it's the best, it will be hated. The most loved games are, as often as not, also the most hated. It's why everyone hates America. It's why everyone hates Manchester United. It's why everyone hates Half Life 2.

And finally, because it's a very popular game, it's talked about a lot. You talk about something a lot, the number of dissenting voices is naturally higher. Not necessarily disproportionately so, but it seems like that because it's just more talked about.

mfsa

sorry about turning this into a political debate but America aren't on top and many people hate America for different reasons. and manchester united arent hated i dont like them cause i dont really like the premier leauge.

and i thought the ravenholm bit in half life was actually a really good part in the game and helped slow it down a bit but i dont know y people called that part scary it wasnt at all.

I can think of three things that cause Half Life 2 to be hated - or perhaps, cause Half Life 2 to appear to be hated.

Firstly, the gunplay sucks. It simply cannot be denied. The gunplay sucks. Compared with some of its contemporaries, games like F.E.A.R and Call of Duty 2 - hell, even compared with Half Life1 - HL2 has some extremely stale gunplay. The actual act of shooting is just not all that great. The AI is dire and a lot of the weapons aren't all that great.

I won't balance the above by going into why HL2 is one of the best games ever made, we all know - but the game is not without its flaws.

Then there is the fact that it's a very popular, very respected game. And people love to hate. Hate is always directed at the top. No matter what it is, if it's at the top, if it's the best, it will be hated. The most loved games are, as often as not, also the most hated. It's why everyone hates America. It's why everyone hates Manchester United. It's why everyone hates Half Life 2.

And finally, because it's a very popular game, it's talked about a lot. You talk about something a lot, the number of dissenting voices is naturally higher. Not necessarily disproportionately so, but it seems like that because it's just more talked about.

mfsa

yes it can be denied lol, the gunplay is alot of fun and the physics add to that tremendously (and dont worry ive played fear, crysis, cod1, 2, 4, moh, resistance, halo and many more) nothing is as fun as holding out an attack of combine in an abandoned house or village or attacking an outpost with striders in the area, in a destroyed city while using your gravity gun in combination with your weapons which imo makes it alot more distinct to other shooters and still alot of fun, maybe it sucked to you but its an fps, the story and immersion would have never made up for that and it didnt have to. the AI is also quite underrated, other than the fact that the combine charge you every now and then (never going successfully) its very solid, its AI is merely overshadowed by many of the games you mentioned which is more of a credit to them rather than hl2 being necessarily crap.

that said i agree the game definitely isnt perfect (the ai for one) but i dont think anyone in their right mind has claimed that.

and no one hates america because they are at the top, i can think of several reasons but thats another topic :)

They dislike it because it is proclaimed to be the best FPS ever!!! When it doesn't live up to the first HL game or even quake 1 & 2.

Just last week I played through the original then went straight into number 2 and I unrelentingly believe the first game to just be better (apart from GFX of course).

Even on it's release I felt this way but now i am even more certain. So I dislike that HL2 is overrated but it's still a good whack at the FPS boardlist.

And HALO suxxxx and always did!

They dislike it because it is proclaimed to be the best FPS ever!!! When it doesn't live up to the first HL game or even quake 1 & 2.

Just last week I played through the original then went straight into number 2 and I unrelentingly believe the first game to just be better (apart from GFX of course).

Even on it's release I felt this way but now i am even more certain. So I dislike that HL2 is overrated but it's still a good whack at the FPS boardlist.

And HALO suxxxx and always did!

DrDoomed

Mate you are soo on the money. I did just that and the difference between the two is soo stark. The first one has guns worth a damn, the second has the gravity gun. I personally prefer unloading magazine after magazine into hoards of enemies than arsing about throwing radiators at them. HL2 is just as linear as the first one, which is inexcusable imo. The first one is set underground, the second is in a city and on the coast! Matey from earlier was right, hl2 has no real 'ending', it just stops all of a sudden. Our old friend the gman wanders in and says 'right, all fun is now over for another year till ep1'. Blah! And your STILL no closer to pasting his sorry ass like you sorely wanted to after the first game. Blah! blah!

Those are my gripes with it. Steam blows very very hard btw. Plus the guns are just stooooooooopid in hl2. I checked out the weapon damage on the internet, the magnum hasTEN TIMES the power ofan smg bullet (40 vs. 4), which is justplaindumn. The combine rifle has just a fifth the power of a magnum bullet (8), i mean come on, ammo is pretty scarce through much of the game for that gun, and once you get it its just walked all over by the magnum. This is a plasma rifle of movie mythology for gods sake, it should be the über weapon of choice! Plus the combine elite arnt that elite if their full body armour (which looks really sweet by the way) cant survive a right-click blast from the shotgun (combine elite 70 health, double blast 84 damage). After watching that thing on mythbusters about holywood myths, it makes it even more silly seeing as a magnum couldnt destroy a padlock in one shot, whereas a rifle and a shotgun could absolutleyobliterated it. In short the magnum is overpowered, the shotgun is way more powerful than the plasma rifle, and the combine elite are not as armoured-up as they appear. #end of rant#

and no one hates america because they are at the top, i can think of several reasons but thats another topic :)

Minglis

Yes, but it's because America is at the top that anyone even cares about those reasons. You don't see anyone raving about the corrupt governments and dictators of various African countries, because they're small, unimportant, and of little significance to anyone. But America, gosh, it's at the top, God forbid it's anything other than perfect.

Half-life 2 rocks

USA rocks

Florida rocks

[QUOTE="Minglis"]

and no one hates america because they are at the top, i can think of several reasons but thats another topic :)

JP_Russell

Yes, but it's because America is at the top that anyone even cares about those reasons. You don't see anyone raving about the corrupt governments and dictators of various African countries, because they're small, unimportant, and of little significance to anyone. But America, gosh, it's at the top, God forbid it's anything other than perfect.

well with being "on top" a country is talked about more than these african nations and therefore people are going to voice their opinions more often because of that.

anyway i think more people have gripes with the bush government than the usa itself.

Half-life 2 rocks

USA sucks

Florida sucks

UK pwns

gogators4life

[QUOTE="gogators4life"]

Half-life 2 rocks

USA sucks

Florida sucks

UK pwns

Grantelicious

Blasphemer!! Say what you will about America, but don't ever speak ill of my glorious Florida!

I think when you look at HL2 you have to put it into proper context. Sure, there were parts that sucked, and the weapons could have been better, the graphics were a litte dated, etc.

But keep in mind that it was originally released on PC several years ago. At the time it's graphics were some of the best around. Although you never think twice about it on the 360, it was a big deal for a game to have that good of graphics AND be optimized for low perfomrance systems. A lot of FPS's were still pretty linear too (not that HL2 wasn't). And by linear I mean most had no open maps. The gravity gun was revolutionary and one of the first examples of a highly interactive environment.

When you put it into the time frame it was released in it is an amazing accomplishment and an excellent game through and through. I can see how it doesn't seem so impressive today (just a few years later). But at the time my friends and I were mesmorized by it.

I felt like the story did not advance AT ALL. I now lump Half-Life in with X-Files and Lost as series that had an intriguing first act and then had no idea where to go with it. (inexcusable for HL,having years to figure it out)

Plus it had a weak-sauce ending.

Maybe cause they tried to play it now?

After so many years . And with some hard 06-07 FPS competitors out there? Cause if you ask me there wasnt anything like it back in 2004.And it can even compete with many FPS that released later. Was a truly nex-gen game back then.Nothing could touch it back then.Not even go near it.